


Amends

by thesometimeswarrior



Series: Ground Control to Major Tom [1]
Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Post-Phantom Planet, Post-Series, badger cereal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-14
Updated: 2016-03-14
Packaged: 2018-05-26 15:45:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6245920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thesometimeswarrior/pseuds/thesometimeswarrior
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You…you had friends that should have been there for you—because they were there at your accident and should’ve known how scared you were and how much pain you were in. But they weren’t. So, while it doesn’t excuse anything you’ve done, I can see how you became what you did. If I hadn’t had my friends there for me, maybe I would have too."</p><p>Years after the events of Phantom Planet, Danny goes in search of an old rival.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Amends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [promsien](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=promsien).



Publicly, no one was surprised when Danny Phantom—a.k.a. Danny Fenton—announced that he would be taking a break from ghost hunting in order to go to space. Some magazine or other who had written one of the more recent profile pieces on him had discovered that before he acquired his abilities, he had aspired to be an astronaut, and so why shouldn’t he, who had so selflessly sacrificed his personal desires at such a young age in order to protect the public, be allowed to achieve his dream? NASA had even offered to allow Danny use of its equipment and to fund his mission. “No,” Danny had told them. “No, thank you! With a few minor modifications, the Fenton Rocket is all I need!” 

And to accomplish these adjustments, Danny had sought out his parents. “Do you think that we could modify the Boooomergang to key into another ghost’s ecto-signature other than mine?” he asked. “And do you think that we could incorporate it as a part of the Fenton Rocket’s navigational systems, so that the Rocket could lock in on that ghost and direct a course toward it?”

“Sure, son!” said Jack. “Piece of cake! But which ghost?”

When he told his parents, they gasped.

“No!” exclaimed Maddie. “Danny, why would you go after _him_?”

“Because…” responded Danny. “Because I have to.”

The Fentons sighed. They knew that they couldn’t stop their son; he was eighteen, a legal adult, after all. But even more significantly, he was an internationally renowned superhero, and _he_ , and not they, was the captain of the most successful ghost-fighting team in the world. One way or another, once he set his mind on something, he would attempt it. All they could do was ensure that he was as well prepared as he possibly could be to accomplish the task he had set for himself. Resigned, they began modifications on the Boooomerang and the Rocket.

Sam and Tucker were less relenting. 

“Danny, no way you’re doing this alone!” said Sam when he told them. “Who knows what he’s been up to! Who knows what he’s capable of!”

“Well, what do you suggest, Sam? My parents can’t come with me—not for this—and I can’t ask Jazz to leave Princeton! So who else is there?”

“Hello! Earth to Danny!” said Sam, knocking on her boyfriend’s skull. “What about us?”

“Yeah, Dude!” affirmed Tucker. “You know we’ve got your back. We always have.”

“No way,” said Danny. “Just because I’m not going to college doesn’t mean you guys shouldn’t! I can’t ask you to sacrifice that for me—I won’t!”

“Who said anything about not going to college?” asked Sam. “We’ll go to space with you, and then go to college when we come back. No biggie.”

“No biggie?! Sam, I have no idea where he is! He could be anywhere in the Universe! It could take months to get to him! It could take _years_!”

“So then it takes us years,” said Tucker. “However long it takes, we’ll be there for you. And we’ll figure out what to do next when we get back.”

“But—but—who will fight the ghosts while I’m gone? I have to count on you guys to keep them at bay while I’m not here!”

“Glad to see you have so much faith in me, then,” said a voice, and Danny looked up to see Valerie on her hover board. She landed. “Lt. Valerie Gray of the Phantom Fighters reporting for duty. Sir,” she added, seemingly as an afterthought. 

“Val…” said Danny, exasperated. 

“I thought that the whole purpose of founding the Phantom Fighters was so that you—any of you—wouldn’t have to have the burden of fighting all these ghosts alone. So that you could do other things. I think this qualifies.”

“But—”

“Save it, Ghost Boy! I didn’t join the Phantom Fighters because I wasn’t okay on my own. I was great on my own—you should know. I spent the greater part of a year hunting you, after all. No, I joined up because I agreed with you: we’re stronger together than we are apart. We should share the burden; _all of us_ should be able to occasionally do other things with our lives! If you’re gonna insist on doing this, let them,” she motioned to Sam and Tucker, “come. You know that I’m more than capable of keeping things under control while you’re gone. Me, and the other Phantom Fighters.”

Danny sighed. “Fine. Val, while I’m gone, you’re acting Captain. Sam, Tuck: we’ll leave as soon as the Rocket’s ready.”

* * *

All in all, it took the Rocket four months to find its target. And, because there were only so many games of checkers one could play before the novelty wore off, the three friends were thrilled to finally see the old ghost, who floated aimlessly next to a space rock. 

“Alright,” said Danny. “I’m going out there. You guys better put your spacesuits on, just in case…this doesn’t go according to plan.”

As his friends nodded and complied, Danny transformed into his ghost self and phased through the Rocket. He flew to the older ghost, whose back was turned away from him and, despite the lack of oxygen—which, as a ghost he didn’t need—took a deep breath before finally speaking. “Vlad.”

“Ah, Daniel. Hello, again.”

“ _Again_?” It had been years. They were in _space_. Wasn’t Vlad surprised to see him?

“Yes, of course. Aren’t you tired of our little dance, yet? Now is the part where I tell you that all I ever wanted was to be a father to you, and when I couldn’t, I had to find other ways to fill that void. And then comes the part where you tell me that you would never accept a hideous _thing_ such as myself as a father. And really, Daniel, you needn’t bother; we’ve done this thousands of times already.”

“I—You fruit loop!” said Danny, taken aback. “I’m not one of your hallucinations! It’s me! The _real_ Danny Fenton. Phantom. Whatever. But it’s me. For real.”

“What?” Vlad turned to look at him. “ _Daniel_? Is it really…I—you—you’ve grown.” 

“Yeah. It’s been a few years, huh?”

“How many exactly?”

“Three.”

“Huh. Three years since I’ve been on Earth…”

“About that…Don’t you think that maybe it’s time to come home?”

Vlad turned away again, silent. After a few moments, when he spoke, his voice was hardly louder than a whisper. “I thought you would be glad to have me out of the way.”

“Maybe I was for a little while. But I’ve been doing a lot of thinking over the past few years.” Danny sighed. “When I first got my powers, I was terrified—I didn’t know what was happening, all of a sudden my body did things that were new, and weird, and I suddenly had the massive secret to keep…I was really _really_ afraid. And I know the only reason I was able to get through that is because my friends stuck with me. They were there for me through everything, from the accident on. And if they hadn’t been…Well, I don’t know what I would’ve done. And you…you had friends that should have been there for you—because they were there at your accident and should’ve known how scared you were and how much pain you were in. But they weren’t. So, while it doesn’t excuse anything you’ve done, I can see how you became what you did. If I hadn’t had my friends there for me, maybe I would have too.”

“I—”

“Wait, let me finish. Listen, it’s not really for me to say, but on behalf of my parents, I’m sorry they weren’t there for you. I really am.”

Vlad turned back toward Danny. “Daniel…I…I don’t know what...what to say…”

“Then don’t say anything. And look, you’ve done a lot of things in your life that aren’t okay. But the solution isn’t to waste away out here. You’ve got powers too. Abilities that can help people. It isn’t too late. Come back. Do the good work. I’m a little past needing a father figure, but if you want an opportunity to love and be loved and be needed, this is it.”

“Even if I do come back with good intentions, you think the rest of the world will just accept that? Will let me go? I—I held the whole world hostage! _Everyone_ knows my secret!”

“Well, everyone knows my secret too. In fact, I’m a household name—I saved the world! And one of the perks of being a trusted hero is that if you tell people to lay off someone, they tend to listen.”

“You would do that?”

“Duh.”

“Why…after everything I’ve done to you… to your family…why would you do this for me?”

“Because we’re the same. And everyone deserves a second chance. I learned that years ago.” Danny extended his hand to the older ghost.

“I…alright.” Slowly, hesitantly, Vlad gripped the young ghost’s hand. 

And, as Danny helped him back to the Fenton Rocket, he could have sworn that the older man whispered “Thank you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading. While not directly related to any of their works, this was inspired in large part due to the lovely promsien on tumblr. Particularly this comic (http://promsien.tumblr.com/post/127853641899/this-entire-thing-is-a-mess-im-a-mess-yes-i-know) and this one (http://promsien.tumblr.com/post/121572055624/au-where-they-are-buddies-and-help-each-other-out)
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


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